Uh oh, more books in the house

Mr Fictionhabit has recently had his birthday and birthdays in our house mean new books. Now his bedside table looks nearly as jumbled as mine!

These are the books already in a pile before his birthday.

He brought the Steve Jobs book back from work 2 days before his birthday. This got raised eyebrows from me, knowing that his bedside book collection was about to expand. It is a huge book and gets decent reviews, but seems to have been rushed out. The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt was shortlisted for last year’s Booker Prize. I didn’t even know he’d bought it until I was dusting one day. Good job I didn’t buy it too, which I nearly did on a visit to Waterstones a few weeks ago. RL’s Dream by Walter Mosley is an Oxfam bookshop purchase. We have a few of his books, but mainly crime. This is about an elderly musician and his relationship with a young woman who rescues him after he is thrown out onto the street. Ajax, the Dutch, the War by Simon Kuper is another Oxfam purchase and is just one more book feeding Mr Fictionhabit’s fascination with football. There is a little pamphlet peeking out between the books. This is a freebie from the Guardian – something about getting fit. Under the pamphlet is O’Reilly Media‘s IPodMissing Manual. We have several O’Reilly books hanging around the house. I have The Twitter Book and Social Media Marketing on my bedside table. They are great and very easy to follow. The bottom book is one that Mr Fictionhabit is very proud of. I think I can safely say that we probably own all of George Pelecanos’ books. I have read a few, but he is really Mr Fictionhabit’s domain. This version of What it Was is a limited edition copy. Only 1000 were printed. He bought 2, one for him and his friend, another Pelecanos dedicatee. Characters from some of Pelecanos’ previous books are reunited in the pages of this one.

Now to the new pile of birthday books!

As Mr Fictionhabit is a fan of American crime fiction I wanted to find him a couple of books even he hadn’t heard of – he tends to have his finger on the pulse when it comes to new books. I read about Motor City Shakedown by DE Johnson here. It was recommended as one of the top 5 crime books of last year. Quite honestly, the title and the cover looks just like the sort of thing Mr Fictionhabit would like. I can say the same for the next book, Hard Rain Falling by Don Carpenter. I read about this book here. It was originally written in 1966 but recently reissued by New York Review Books. It has an introduction by Pelecanos and is a tale of being down and not quite out, but very close. Luckily Mr Fictionhabit hasn’t come across either book and was suitably excited by them. Anyone having read this blog before will have heard mention of Murakami several times. There was plenty of moaning at Christmas when IQ84 wasn’t among the hoard of presents – hence it landed with a huge thud for his birthday instead.

My sister bought him the Triathlete’s Training Bible. He is already an open-water swimmer (lakes and rivers…brrr), and has been contemplating a biathlon/triathlon for a while – this might be the push he needs.

The trouble is, Mr Fictionhabit has yet to finish the book he has been reading for sometime now, The Instance of the Fingerpost by Ian Pears. It is taking forever…but what on earth will he choose next?

We were both big big fans of the Sisters Brothers. Loved it. It’s like reading a John Wayne movie :-). Fan of the instance of the Fingerpost too…was only thinking of that book the other day when helping a friend’s daughter w school work on Great Expectations and fingerposts we’re mentioned. Haven’t braved the new murakami …the fatness seemed like such a commitment!! Tell us if it’s worth it! Nice stacks!

As I write this I am looking at the three – make that four? – piles of books that rise and fall beside my side of the bed. They are all in various stages of reading and unreading and were joined yesterday by two more, the novels I need for my next blog. I’m afraid I’m no good when it comes to new fiction (they’re just so much of it I don’t know where to start). However, I did read The Instance of the Fingerpost and enjoyed it. Happy reading!